Four held on charges of poaching barking deer

Four persons were arrested on Wednesday on the charge of poaching a barking deer in a private plantation at Nedumbala under the Meppadi forest range in the South Wayanad forest division.

The accused have been identified as Rajan,48; Mohanan,38; Sivakumar, 40, and Gilbert, 40, of Nedumbala near Meppadi in the district.

K.C. Pradeepan, forest range officer, Meppadi, said the accused killed and sold the venison of a six-year-old male barking deer (Cervus unicolor), which had been trapped in a plastic net used by farmers for detracting wild animals from entering into a private land.

It was suspected that the accused were members of a poaching racket, Mr. Pradeepan said.

The officials also seized the venison and a bike used by the team for transportation. The accused would be produced in the First Class Judicial Magistrate Court here.